(A SERIOUS WARNING: This is a very disturbing diary. If this doesn't upset you, then you are probably from another planet. If genuinely upsetting news is not your cup of tea, I sincerely urge you to stop reading this and go elsewhere.)
As our society rapidly unravels in front of us, up to 100 million Americans are now having great difficulty just making it through the day.
They are silently screaming for our help.
These human beings cannot wait until a new president takes office.
They are running out of time.
They don't have the luxury of sitting around for four months, then waiting while 21st century legislation is enacted over the next four years to resolve (or at least combat) the nightmares created by our current (so-called excuse for) leadership...a leadership that's not even living in the 20th century, but in some nebulous hallowed hall reserved only for the few a la 18th century France. The so-called status quo. This is
their America!
Do you hear their screams? Tonight? "Killings put counselors on alert about money woes."
Killings put counselors on alert about money woes.
By CHRISTINA HOAG (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
October 07, 2008 8:35 PM EDT
LOS ANGELES - Mental health counselors were on the alert Tuesday for calls from people depressed or possibly suicidal about money woes, after an unemployed financial manager from India killed five family members and himself.
The widely publicized tragedy, which unfolded Monday after worried friends summoned police to the family's San Fernando Valley home, may spur an influx of calls to suicide prevention and crisis hot lines from people in similar financial straits, or even other suicides, said Marvin J. Southard, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health.
"One of the things we're afraid of is these things sometimes lead to a copycat phenomenon," Southard said. "This didn't come out of the blue. Everybody's been affected by the economic crisis in some way."
--SNIP--
Los Angeles Police Deputy Chief Michel Moore described the scene as having a "terrible impact" on responders and crisis teams were sent Tuesday to talk with the professionals who witnessed the carnage.
--SNIP--
Moore urged people who spot signs of depression in family and friends to seek help as soon as possible to prevent such tragedies.
"Even if the individuals themselves don't reach out for that assistance, we would ask that people intervene," Moore said.
Bold/emphasis is diarist's.
While we sit here engrossed within the election season, across this country something beyond dreadful is unfolding, right in front of us.
We--citizens of this once great and wealthy nation--are looking the other way.
Matters have gone from very bad to unbearable for tens of millions of (more) Americans in recent months.
I would venture to guess that this is roughly twice as many of our fellow Americans that are in this situation now than were in this predicament just one year ago.
By my own estimates, about 12-15 million of us are in foreclosure now. Millions more have already lost their homes (multiply the number of foreclosures and those foreclosed by average U.S. household size to obtain accurate counts here). Roughly 50 million are without healthcare. Another 5 to 10 million have either recently lost their jobs or expect to be unemployed by year's end. And, then there are those "below the radar"--anywhere from 30 million to 40 million more living in a "cash society," "unbanked" and underemployed, or now unemployed, altogether.
The numbers we hear from our government are unreliable, and they don't even begin to tell us the half of it.
As I described it in my diary, Sunday "A Basic Concept: Millions cannot wait until Jan. 20th," the cracks in our society have recently (and somewhat silently) widened greatly....into what is now nothing short of an abyss. The economic abyss is, in fact, a societal abyss.
"They" are falling through what little remains of our so-called "social net."
After eight years of Republican ravaging of our nation's social programs, what a horrific joke the term, "social net," has become! The past year has seen to that.
It is sucking the life out of millions of Americans monthly--new members of this list of those screaming for our help--now. Can you hear them?
"Fannie Mae forgives loan for 90-year-old woman who shot herself."
Their time is running out. Still not hearing them? "Woman Commits Suicide Over Foreclosure."
Right now: they are hungry; they can't put food on their table; they are sick and they have nowhere to turn because they lack health insurance; they are young and just starting out in life; but life has just punched them in the face because student loan funds have vaporized; and even with a degree the jobs are no longer there; they are homeless; they are veterans; they are going broke (or they have been for a long time); and, they are dying. Can you hear them now?
"VA blasted over veterans suicides."
Eight years of George Bush's laissez faire (lack of) management of our country did this to them.
Here are some comments to my diaries on MyDD and DKos about this over the past couple of days. (I'll start with my own comment. I'm leaving off the names of the other commenters, quoted below.)
They're all around us. They. Are. Us.
The next few weeks and months...
...are going to make the Katrina story look like a day at the beach.
Billions (of dollars), perhaps hundreds of billions (of dollars), are needed now.
There is a not-so-silent, not-so-natural disaster afflicting our society...unlike anything we've witnessed in generations.
And, it's going to play out (albeit "quietly") throughout the holiday season, and beyond.
This is going to be a very, very difficult Christmas. We must address this right now. Time is up for many already.
by bobswern on Sun Oct 05, 2008 at 03:17:28 PM EST
[ Reply to This ]
I am one of those 10s of millions of whom you
speak. Thank you for articulating what those of us who are 'on the verge' of either losing the roof over our heads or underemployed or unemployed are dealing with day in and day out, morning, noon and night.
I would say that most of us millions have at least some college education and are not substance abusers/don't use drugs or alcohol. We get up every day and search for gainful employment and/or a place to live while we cope with trying to find some kind of assistance to help to pay our bills or to buy food or to pay rent/mortgage.
As evidenced by the less than 10 comments here, most people don't care or have any idea what it is like. As Matthew 24:12 says,
"And because iniquity (wickedness) shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold."
In other words, these days, most people don't care about others' suffering.
The fact is that there are few charitable agencies that can help a person who is late with the rent or on the verge of foreclosure or who need to pay their utilities. As I told both Boxer and Feinstein when I spoke to their offices last week after they added $140 billion worth of pork, yet refused to include any kind of economic stimulus package because, to quote them, they were afraid that they wouldn't be able to get the bill passed, their concerns are not for their constituents.
Thank you, bobswern. Thank you for speaking for those of us who are in the abyss.
1000 vets
died today, waiting on the V.A.
The time ran out.
After months out of work
I have a job.
It is not a living wage.
I need new glasses: not covered.
Sometimes I work ten hours on a shift: no half hour for lunch, to sit down and eat. No: I work in a convenience store. We get to have a smoke break about once an hour, and if it's really slow, sometimes you can sneak a couple of minutes sitting down, but mostly it's wage-slavery for a Corporate Entity that cares more about being stolen from than it does for the welfare of its employees.
Well, no shocker, that.
I wouldn't work for them at all if the GOP hadn't fucked up the economy so badly that there are NO OTHER JOBS OUT THERE in this swing state that HAD BETTER GO BLUE: 'cause there are lots of other poor souls here who are working for slave wages.
And remember all those things that unions did to get us better working conditions?
Fugeddaboudit.
Thanks to the GOP, this is a "right to work" state, meaning:
Ya got no rights. No weekends, unless Corporate says so. No vacation, unless Corporate says so: and Corporate is invested in your staying on part-time status so that you get neither vacation nor health care.
Oh--and Corporate WILL fire you for attempting to start a union.
Which Corporation could Youffraita possibly be referring to here?
I need to keep my job. Let's just say they own supermarkets and convenience stores, and leave it there. I doubt my particular employer is any worse than all others of its class: and at least, unlike WalMart employees, we actually get paid for overtime. So things could be worse...
But it's still not a living wage.
Our economy is a house of cards. Don't breathe.
Do you see this happening around you? Is it affecting you or your loved ones or a neighbor? You can do something about it. When you see someone in trouble, talk with them! It won't cost you a cent. If you think it's as serious as some of the examples I've quoted here, just pick up the phone or go online:
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK
USA National Suicide Hotlines USA
The National Suicide Prevention Directory - Part 1 1-800-SUICIDE
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (Wikipedia)
Help Hotline Crisis Center 1 (800) 427-3606
This situation is quickly getting to the point where we're beyond the "make-a-donation-to-your-local-food-pantry" stage.
Most are predicting that things will continue to deteriorate throughout 2009.
Drastic measures are needed to address these matters effectively throughout the nation and the world...and before the holidays, too!
Please think of this diary the next time you rationalize why the Bush Administration is doing the right thing by bailing out Wall Street...and, now, considering doing the same for our nation's corporations.
Please think of this diary the next time you hear of a veteran returning home from war.
Please think of this diary even when you're talking with loved ones, friends, and even those not so close to you.
There are as many as 100 million Americans that need our help right now. (Not a few months from now, but right now!)
Where is their "bailout?"
The holiday season is rapidly approaching.